


The Last Gasp

by CausticGrip



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Human, Drug Use, F/F, Love, Recovery, Sex, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 01:55:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13020786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CausticGrip/pseuds/CausticGrip
Summary: After she received a small, unexpected inheritance from her passing father, Lapis decided it was high time to abandon her crumbling life in Empire City as a last-ditch effort to sober up and get her act together.





	The Last Gasp

The early afternoon sun was beaming down on the pavement when Lapis departed from the subway station. This district of the city was always bustling around noon, and she found the crowds to be somewhat suffocating and relieving all at the same time. Suffocating because she liked her space. Relieving because it was easy to blend in with the crowd, and that’s exactly what she wanted to do: blend in. It was highly unlikely that she would meet anyone she knew in this part of the city, but the idea of having to strike up a conversation with a soon-to-be-forgotten friend still left Lapis on edge. The fewer people who could find out what she was up to, the better. She was leaving. Finally. For good. As far as Lapis was concerned, she’d die happy if she never saw Empire City again.  
  
She wanted to leave earlier, weeks ago, but Jasper went on a rampage any time she looked at the door. Sure, she had a few extra bruises on her body because of it, but hey, it was a small price to pay in her mind.  
  
Lapis played along with Jasper’s whims while she waited for the best time to grab her shit and leave. She got high, slept with Jasper, stayed out too late, partied too much. Did just enough to make her ex-girlfriend forget that she wanted to leave. Yeah, just a small price to pay.  
  
Last night was a particularly heavy night of indulgence on Jasper’s part, and luckily Lapis had been just sobered up enough to catch on and quickly set her plans in motion. The pair got home around 6:00 AM and it never took too long for Jasper to be out cold, so Lapis seized the opportunity to quickly shower, throw her meager belongings into a backpack, and make herself presentable. Her mind was still hazy from the previous night, but she didn’t let that stop her. She needed to get out of this place.  
  
She left the apartment in a hurry, making sure to close and lock the door quietly behind her. As much as she would have liked to bolt to the subway immediately, Lapis knew deep down she needed to make one stop before she left this wretched city behind. Jasper and her friends would be asleep until the late afternoon anyway.  
  
Lapis spent the last few years of her life being so fucked up and irresponsible that her own parents eventually cut ties with her, and as much as it hurt her to remember, she couldn’t really blame them for their decision. They tried to help her… and she took advantage of their trust and kindness. Lapis stole from them and blew every opportunity they gave her to straighten up. She wasn’t ready to sober up. She didn’t want to. She was too busy having fun and “living the life” with Jasper, and Lapis felt that her parents were just trying to control her life.  
  
Hindsight’s 20/20. Lapis’ mother and father weren’t trying to control her life. They just wanted their daughter to be happy and healthy, and they feared the day they would get a call to come down to the morgue to identify her body after she overdosed on whatever the hell she fancied that night. Lapis just broke their hearts one too many times.  
  
Lapis had wanted to call her mother to tell her that she was leaving, but the older woman had been refusing to her calls. Not that she could blame her, though.  
A few months ago, Lapis’ father was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and while she did visit him in the hospital, she used his illness as an excuse to use in excess. She missed his funeral due to her intoxicated stupor.  
  
Lapis wanted to make peace with that in any way she could, so before fleeing town, she took a detour to the cemetery where her father was buried. She was able to find his grave with no problem since the family had already replaced the temporary grave marker with a proper tombstone. While she talked to her father for the last time, she broke down in tears, begged for his forgiveness, and promised him that she would finally get sober.  
  
After all, despite her being a vile person who acted out in such irredeemable ways, her father still left her a small amount of money. It wasn’t a huge windfall, sure, but it was enough to get a new start somewhere. If there were ever signs given to people to turn their lives around, this was surely it.  
  
The temptation to blow it on her vices had been strong, but she resisted the urge to get fucked up on her father’s money. She never let Jasper know about the cash either, because then it would have been coerced out of her in no time.  
  
Not this time, no. Instead of using her father’s last act of kindness for bullshit, Lapis bought a one-way ticket to Beach City and told no one where she was going.  
  
Lapis turned the corner and made her way down the last city block before the bus interchange. She waited roughly 30 minutes for her departure. Bus 1501 pulled into the bay, letting out a burst of air when the brakes were engaged. She looked at the LED runner at the front of the vehicle blinking To Beach City before she gathered her things and quickly disappeared behind the opened doors.

 

 

\----------

  
  
_“I’m leaving,” Lapis whispered out. Her mouth dry and mind still dazed from the previous night’s alcohol and drug-fueled escapades._  
  
_“Yeah, right,” Jasper started, “You never leave.”_  
  
_"I mean it this time," she sighed as she sat up in bed, "I'm done. I don't want to live like this, with you, anymore."_  
  
_Lapis kicked her legs out from under the blankets and over the edge of the worn-out mattress. Bare feet touching the cold wooden floor. Lapis looked over her shoulder to make eye contact with the form resting behind her. Jasper met her gaze, narrowed her eyes, and swiftly got out of bed._  
  
_"What, you come into a little money and suddenly you think you're better than me?" Jasper's words came out with a biting tone._  
  
_"It's not like that and you know it. I want to have a life, a real life. Not this," she motioned with her arms at their surroundings, their dismal bedroom, "Mess we made together."_  
  
_"Mess? Lapis, this is the best out of life we're ever going to get! That you’re ever going to get," Jasper yelled, her voice becoming more and more agitated with each word._  
  
_"Jasper, I don't want-" Lapis started before being abruptly cut off._  
  
_"No, I don't care! You think you're hot shit now, Lapis, but you know what? You're nothing without me. You need me," Jasper walked over to Lapis, grabbed her hands, and pulled her up off the bed, "Besides, we have so much fun together, baby."_  
  
_Lapis glared at Jasper and tried to shove her away, but Jasper's grip was too strong. Jasper raised her hand and struck Lapis across the fa--_  
  
Lapis jerked awake, nearly feeling the sting of the slap against her skin. She let out a heavy sigh and licked her lips while taking in her surroundings. On the bus. No Jasper. No shitty apartment. Nothing. Just the hum of the engine and a few soft voices making conversation around her.  
  
“What a great fucking way to start,” Lapis said under her breath.  
  
Lapis leaned back in her chair to rest her head against the back of the seat. Nausea settled in as she felt her hangover gripping her temples while the early signs of an opiate withdrawal ebbed through her body.  
  
What a great fucking way to start, indeed.  
  
Lapis laughed at herself. “No shit,” she thought. She had spent the night wasting away. She would be nuts to expect anything less than feeling like warmed over death.  
  
She could do this, right?  
  
Lapis had no real plan outside of getting the fuck out of Empire City. She had no friends in Beach City, no family, no support network. She figured she’d just hole up in a cheap motel for a few weeks while she battled her addictions.  
  
She pulled herself out of her thoughts to glance at the watch adorning her left wrist. The time was 2:30 PM, Jasper should be waking up within a couple of hours. She smirked when she imagined the rage Jasper would feel when she realized Lapis left her ass and their shitty life in the past.  
  
Beach City was less than an hour away. Her new life less than an hour away.  
  
Yeah, she could do this.  
  
Hopefully.

**Author's Note:**

> So, hey there! I've never really tried much creative writing in my life... and I really wanted to take a crack at it. Thanks for giving this a shot! I'm hoping to make this story stretch between 15-20 chapters, but we'll see!


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